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I felt this was the best and the worst time to bring up this question. This past week we got to see how important Danny is to this offense and Sam himself. But it is also coming off of a career game that will skew some's perception of him, as he isnt going to repeat that performance often.

Some jumped on a report, that was then later refuted/corrected, that the Rams were talking contract extension with Danny. Well Howard Balzer quickly cleared that up:

Tweeted this Friday, but not sure if it went through. Have had said some ask about my comment about the Rams in talks with Danny Amendola...

Clarifying: The Rams want to re-sign him, but currently there are no negotiations going on.

And honestly, if Im Amendola, Im not negotiating a contract yet. He was at his lowest value ever coming into this season and Im sure he thought he could really build it up throughout this season.

Here is my question, how much are you willing to give up to keep Danny here?

With everyone looking for the "Next Wes Welker" these days, Danny is the closest thing a team could get. The slot receiver/#3 receiver Value has gone up drastically the past few years. Maybe not their actual value so much as their market value. Last offseason Early Doucet got 2 years for $4 million, Mario Manningham signed for 2 years and $7.4 mil, & Jacoby Jones got 2 for $6.5mil. And all those guys are ones who I dont even see on Amendola's Level.

When I start looking at Contract Comps (I did pretty well with both Long and Laurinaitis this year) 5 deals from last year seem to be the area we should be looking at;
Harry Douglas4 years for $12.5 million including a $3 million Signing Bonus
Base Salaries: Y1-$1.25mil Y2-$1.75mil Y3-$2.75mil Y4-$3.5mil
This is what I personally feel the good Slot/#3 receiver should be getting. Douglas has alot of talent and has had some really nice games, but he is on that Rung just below Danny as a Slot man. This is the absolute Baseline of what Amendola's contract will look like. If he completely comes back to earth and teams start taking him away to where he averages only 3 receptions for 30+ the rest of the way, this type of money is what he is looking at from some team.
Josh Morgan2 years for $11.5 million including a $5.5 million Signing Bonus
Base Salaries: Y1-$1.8mil Y2-$3.8mil
Morgan got completely overpaid, Still dont understand this deal, no one really did. So why do I even bring him up? Because the numbers are close to what I think a legitimate outline for Danny's contract; $5.75 million per year with a $5mil signing bonus.
Eddie Royal3 years for $13.5 million including a $4.5 million Signing Bonus
Base Salaries: Y1-$1.5mil Y2-$3mil Y3-$4.5mil
The only other true Slot receiver on this list, taht got paid to be a Slot guy. But again, alot like Douglas, Royal got paid off of what he could be, not what he was last year. That is where Danny's situation is very different. We know what he is, and he likely isnt going to get a whole lot better. But there is nothing wrong with paying for consistency.
Laurent Robinson5 years for $32.5 million including a $8 million Signing Bonus
Base Salaries: Y1-$1mil Y2-$2.6mil Y3-$5.6mil Y4-$6.4mil Y5-$4.6mil
Laurent likely represents the ceiling of what Danny could get. Another unharolded guy, who stepped up for a huge year and m,ade sure he cashed in. Danny may be more reliable, but Robinson has the skills/ability to be an outside receiver, possibly a low #1. Danny should fall somewhere between the $$$ for Douglas and Robinson.
Pierre Garcon5 years for $42.5 million including a $11 Million Signing Bonus
Base Salaries: Y1-$2.1mil Y2-$5.6mil Y3-$7.1mil Y4-$7.1mil Y5-$7.6milGarcon is the only one of these guys who can be, and was signed expected to be, a true #1 for his team. Amendola does not have that upside, he also has never shown the potential Garcon has (granted it was with Peyton). The only thing that this contract does is skew the norm for the comparison. I almost didnt even include Garcon on this list, but he was close enough that I wanted to point out this is likely out of reach for Danny, unless some team is just crazy.

My guess for his upcoming contract, if it does come from the Rams & he doesnt have an absurd year that would push his price up to Robinson/Garcon money would be 3 years $18.5 millionincluding a $5mil signing bonus. Possibly adding on an insignificant 4th year that he will never see making it 4 years $25 million.

But if he does blow up, and it looks like some team will offer him crazy money, do you used the Franchise Tag on him make sure you can groom a replacement for him? Or just let him walk and hope Pettis or someone new can step in right away?

I'd offer something in the range of 4 to 5 years about 5 to 6 million a year.

Yea, the 3 year deal was more what I think he deserves/will actually see from the deal he signs. The deal he actually signs (assuming its with the Rams) will be like the other one I brought up;
4 years $25 million - $5 million signing bonus
Salaries
Year 1: $3.5 million
Year 2: $4.5 million
Year 3: $5 million
Year 4: $7 million

And he'll likely never see that 4th year. Unless he balls out and earns that, it will be easy to pay the last $1.25mil of his Signing Bonus than giving him $7mil more